Colony band teacher is BP award winner

MAT-SU — Representatives from BP and the Mat-Su Borough School District announced Jamin Burton as the 2009 BP Teacher of the Year for the Mat-Su Valley area.

Burton, the band and percussion teacher at Colony High School, has one core idea about teaching students. If you care about the students as individuals, you will do what it takes to help them succeed.

“I try to think I am dealing with 40 individuals instead of 40 kids,” Burton said during Thursday night event. “When you take the time to know them and their needs, it just works.”

He admitted his subject matter helps him engage students. The teacher that led the Colony marching band to play at President Obama’s inaugural parade said it’s easy for his students to see the value in music, and besides that, it is inherently fun.

Burton accepted the award at the banquet held at Settler’s Bay Lodge attended by the other four 2009 Teachers of Excellence: Devon DeGarmo, Anthony Jensen, Colene Mead and Mark Owen.

Devon DeGarmo, a first- and second-grade teacher at Goose Bay Elementary, treats her classroom like it’s another home for her students. It’s a comfortable environment, everyone shares the responsibilities and they laugh a lot, DeGarmo said.

The government teacher at Wasilla High School, Anthony Jensen is quick to recite an axiom he learned in and education class. Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. He uses self-effacing humor and high energy dialogue to keep his students engaged.

Also at Goose Bay, Colene Mead uses art in her kindergarten class to develop creative expression and talents. Making the personal connection is only hard if you don’t make it a priority, she said.

Mark Owen is a 26-year veteran of Glacier View Elementary. He created the award-winning Glacier View music program and takes his history students on field trips to Europe.

“The best back-handed compliment I’ve ever had is when a student asked me what she should take notes on,” said Owen. “I told her you know something is important when I get excited. She said ‘But you’re always excited about everything.’”

Teachers can be nominated by any member of the community, said Tammie Anderson, coordinator of Thursday’s event. The nominations go to a selection committee of PTA members, students and BP representatives for review. The committee then sends questionnaires to the potential teachers.

From the answers, the committee looks for a teacher’s involvement in the community, commitment to the job and ability to promote diversity in the classroom.

“We have a community of great teachers,” Anderson said. “We’re looking for some that go just a little bit further.”

From the five Teachers of Excellence, one is selected the Teacher of the Year. The questions on the five questionnaires are given a numerical score, and the committee starts their discussion around these scores.

Each of the five Teachers of Excellence receive a $500 Visa gift card. The winner gets a $1,500 scholarship for continuing his education and a bronze sculpture of a polar bear nurturing its cub.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or (907) 352-2252.